C Level Tournament at Crake

There were 7 of us playing and it was all play all. Five were from Crake and myself and Andy Mundy from Newcastle way. I made an excellent start beating 3 people with much lower handicaps than me. I was second at lunch time. I think Louise put a jinx on me by telling me that. I lost the next game 6-7 to Elaine who had a handicap of 14. My next opponent was Karen Bowes (who had won all her previous matches) and kept up her record. By this time I had played 6 games and my legs were feeling very weary as was my brain trying to concentrate. It was not helped by having to play me first game with secondary colours and I gave one hoop away because of this. I should have beaten Brenda but she got the better of me. I finished third out of 7.

Posted by Ursula, 8th May.

D Level Tournament at Crake

Barbara, Ted and Ursula making up 75% of the competitors! They finished in 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. Ursula is also competing in the C Level Tournament which follows on.

Posted by The Boss, 8th May.

Secretary's Shield

Fylde 5 Middlesborough 2

Click here to see the CqE results page

Middlesbrough: Dennis Scarr 0.5, Julian Gibson 7, Brian Gardner 8, Nigel Drury 10.
Fylde: Liz Wilson 3, Andrew Webb 6, Betty Bates, Barry Broughton 14

The day started with beautiful blue skies. The lawns were set out by the wonderful hosts Pendle and made a lovely welcome to this gathering.

The pairing of Betty/Liz with Julian/Brian was a tussle in the morning with both teams jarring balls in hoops and overhitting on the fast lawns . Brian kept control scooping to hoops and running them but Julian more traditionally used four ball breaks. Betty and Liz hit in a number of times setting up breaks but the came off the lawn with their croquets on the fast lawns. 3 times Betty broke down at the same hoop with relatively short shots, and insisted the hoop be checked, which proved to be ok and just a mental bogie hoop for her. Fylde were kept on their toes but Middlesbrough eventually won 26-17.

Barry versus Denis was an unusual match , Barry had never played anyone so low in handicap before and appeared to be playing cautiously, worried about his opponent could do. Barry took his first ball to penult and with his second he peeled penult, attempted the peel on rover with forward ball going through and skewing the second for end of turn. He allowed Denis a few turns which he could not make use of. Eventually Barry went through Rover and pegged one of his off, leaving himself to windscreen wipe across the peg. A few hoops were made by Dennis but broke down at hoop 4 leaving Barry to finish winning 26-3.

Nigel and Andrew was a tightly fought contest with both players making some splendid shots. In the end Fylde were victorious winning by a thin margin 21-19.

In the afternoon Betty had her determined head on against Brian, promising to do better than the morning efforts. With her first ball she got to two back. Brian played some lovely scoops to the hoop but Betty ensured whenever she left the lawn his balls were split up and her own was set for a rush. Betty played well getting to rover with both balls with almost an hour and half to go, but messed up a croquet where Brian was stuck in his hoop 5 and in her attempt to knock him out made it difficult for herself to continue. A few nip and tuck moments but in the end Betty victorious winning 26-10 with 45 minutes to go.

Liz played Denis and unusually she received 3.5 bisques. She used 3 to run hoop one then pulled herself together later, putting together some fabulous breaks and only lost by 5, Denis winning 26-21.

Nigel versus Barry was a war of attrition with both players on and off the lawn, with some good hit ins and set ups, but in the end Barry won 21-13 Andrew wore down Julian in the final match, showing his value of MVP, beating him 26-10 and it resulted a handicap change for him to 5.

The captains thanked Pendle for their hospitality and the use of their lawns in order to offer a neutral venue to the travelling players. The sun still shone at the end and everyone was  in high spirits and very happy (including the losing team). What a lovely day.

Posted by, Betty, 8th May

First Match from new pavilion

Home against the Bury Peelers.

Posted by The Boss, 26th April.

Golf Croquet Tactical Decision Tree

Click here to read it.

The link is also anchored on our Information page.

Posted by Stephen Mulliner, 22nd April.

Fylde Afield

Two Fylde players battled the changeable weather at Pendle over the Easter Weekend. Batty Bates came out the winner of the overall handicap trophy beating Lee Hartley in the final. Lee won the low handicap runner-up trophy Well done Fylde

Posted by Liz, 6th April.

Lawn Opening delay

The prolonged spell of poor weather leading up to Storm David has unfortunately pushed back the timetable. After reviewing conditions, the grounds team have decided that play will be postponed until Saturday, 11th April.

They’ll keep an eye on the forecast and provide further updates as needed. Meanwhile, work continues.

5th April.

Hoops Set

While Blackpool’s one nil win on rain was borne,
As Sun broke through the fickle skies would sway,
Five faithful hands moved and made the lawns reborn
Like clockwork true, they set the hoops' array.

Two lawns in full, four shortened duly laid,
One ground for practice marked with modest care;
Each hoop now numbered, every hollow stayed,
With covers set against the rabbit’s wear.

Recall the map, let order guide the hand:
Set each aright where form and rule agree;
And mark, as ever, on the Eastern stand,
The coloured carrot turned toward the lea.

Alison, Barbara B, Liz, Peter, Robert, 28th March.

News from the AGM

The Committee acknowledge and thank Catherine, Philip, and Jan for their many years of dedicated service to the club. Their commitment has elevated our community in countless ways, from strengthening members' camaraderie to maintaining excellent lawn conditions, caring for equipment, and preserving a meticulous and invaluable club history. We warmly welcome Robert and Barbara as they join the committee. We are fortunate to have Barbara B, Barry, and Alison stepping into the roles of leaving committee members. For full details, please see our Club Officials page.

23rd March.

Ian's at it

There once was a fellow named Ian,
Who made our hoops look pristine.
Each set he’d repaint,
With a craftsman’s restraint,
Though he swears it’s “just part of the routine.”

Posted by Cohen Pylott, 27th February.

golf croquet scoring fractions

The core idea of golf croquet scoring fractions is that, in time‑limited Advantage GC games, if the clock expires before either side reaches its target score, the winner is determined by comparing each side’s scoring fraction rather than by raw hoops scored. This method is recommended by the World Croquet Federation to fill a gap in the current rules.

Scoring Fraction = Hoops scored so far / Target score. It expresses how far each player has progressed toward their personal target score at the moment time expires. The WCF advises using scoring fractions until the next rules revision.

Example: Suppose Player A (stronger) has target 9 and Player B (weaker) has target 5. At time‑up, Player A has scored 6 hoops and Player B has scored 4 hoops.

Fractions: A: 6/9 = 0.667, B: 4/5 = 0.800. Player B wins, even though both players have scored fewer than their targets and A has more raw hoops.

Tournament managers will describe in advance if draws are acceptable (the fractions are the same) or the procedure for resolving this.

Beware! A player behind on raw hoops may still be ahead on fraction. Tactical decisions near time‑up may shift: sometimes one hoop is worth more to one player than the other because of target differences.

The calculator below may prove very useful.

Gepostet von Webmeister, 27th February.

Universal Calculator

Brian Wainman from Plymouth Croquet Club has developed this simple to use website.

It does everything!

  • Calculates the number of bisques
  • Extra strokes
  • Change in index for all GC/AC/Short/1 Ball games
  • For singles & doubles
  • On different lawn sizes
  • Advantage 2026 (Target Score)
  • Advantage scoring fractions

Click here to try it.

The link is also anchored on our Information page.

Score fractions suggested example to enter.

Weisheiten des Webmeister, 22nd February.

Cut To the point

After convening with our illustrious service guild, Philip strides back into the clubhouse bearing tidings of triumph.

“Dennis has been fully serviced,” he proclaims, “his cylinder sharpened to a blade fit for kings, and he now stands ready for the 2026 season!”

Polished to a heroic gleam, every bolt shining like it’s been personally buffed by the Sun. He sits upon a patch of grass that has grown bold, complacent, perhaps even a touch arrogant during his absence. The blades of grass sway nervously, as if whispering among themselves: “He’s back.”

Dennis, meanwhile, gazes out with the quiet confidence of a seasoned warrior returning from a winter’s slumber. His posture says only one thing: “I'm ready now ... Release me!”

Posted by Cohen Pylott, 23rd January.

C

This photograph was shared with the King in Catherine's letter.

Posted by Catherine, 15th December 2025.

Launa Ndawarda reports nothing untoward

A damp feel at the dew laden lawns which were all looking fine.
Pavilion, Croquet Shed and Equipment Store all opened and all ok.

Posted by Webmeister, 13th December 2025.

The 2025 News Is Archived Here